Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX – Ep. 12 (Series Finale)

I thought WFM being 25 episodes long was short but GQuuuuuuX now takes the cake. At only 12 episodes, it is the shortest mainline Gundam TV series. To play devil’s advocate, I’m guessing Sunrise and Bandai Namco just aren’t willing to do a 50 episode Gundam like they used to do. It is a big commitment after all and while you can spread out a series across multiple cours/seasons, that’s usually decided in advance or after the first go around did well enough (and who knows, maybe GQuuuuuuX did do that well and we’ll get a sequel one day). That said, and I’m even saying this as someone who prefers shorter TV shows, I don’t think GQuuuuuuX should’ve been 12 episodes. It paced okay early on but after the halfway point, it became increasingly clear that the show has almost no room to breathe. I don’t know about 50 episodes but I do think this show would’ve benefitted a lot more if it at least had 24 to work with.

Another elephant in the room to address is whether or not the show is friendly to newcomers. I figured since it’s an alternate UC timeline, I could get into GQuuuuuuX just fine and I stuck with that choice in case someone might find value in a newcomer’s perspective on this show. That said, I fully concede that it was not the best decision. While the show does start the canon afresh, it eventually assumes that you’ve done your homework. Many times throughout this show, I got pretty darn lost and I had to check either a friend who knows this stuff, a Gundam wiki, or the few comments I got on my blog posts for this series (thanks again, AWJ). That is on me but I do think it’s a bummer that I couldn’t jump into this show like I could with WFM. I wonder if I’ll enjoy this show on a rewatch after I finally get into UC in earnest but with how rushed this show is, that might not help all that much.

So as Shuji summons the RX-78-2, Char prepares to use Yomagn’tho to send the Rose of Sharon back to where it came from. Through Kira Kira land, Shuji explains that in his universe, Char dies fighting against the RX-78-2, presumably piloted by Amuro like in the original canon. Devasted over Char’s death, the Lalah in that universe began to create alternate universes with her psychic abilities. Machu’s universe happens to be the first one where Char survives the One Year War (guess not having Amuro around helped). Ironically though, the Char in Machu’s universe doesn’t really know who Lalah is and he’s trying to get rid of the Lalah who created him. I guess this elaborates on the whole multiverse element and it does explain why the Lalah in GQuuuuuuX is somehow able to remember all the different timelines. That said, this explanation still has a couple of holes. I don’t care how much nonsense a Newtype can pull off, you can’t convince me that Lalah’s psychic powers are so strong that she’s basically the Haruhi of Gundam. Also, this does not explain Shuji’s relationship with Lalah, let alone who the guy is.

Shuji declares that he must kill Lalah in order to spare her of her pain, prompting Machu to fight him. Machu manages to convince Nyaan about knocking sense in to Shuji and the two join forces. I feel like this is an excuse to have the traditional moment of the rivals teaming up against a common foe but I can buy it after Nyaan saved Machu last episode. After Kycilia has a hilariously last-minute flashback detailing her relationship with Char’s family, Char blows her ship up with a bazooka. Challia reunites with Char after defeating Xavier though he decides to attack his old friend on the pretense that Char rising to power will spell doom for Newtypes and humanity in general. I think it’s safe to say now that Challia is my favorite character in GQuuuuuuX. It’s been fun figuring out what he’s up to and it’s fascinating that he’s one of the few people Char can consider a friend but he still recognizes the danger Char poses. He’s one of the few things that this show didn’t fumble on and it’s actually crazy to think that he was a minor character in 0079.

As Mavs, Machu and Nyaan get the upper hand on Shuji. I don’t know if it’s great fanservice for the most classic Gundam to get its butt kicked but that thought quickly subsided when Shuji makes it grow like a monster from Super Sentai. I guess that’s just yet another thing Newtypes can do. Nyaan gets incapacitated but Machu manages to land a finishing blow while also psychically pleading to Shuji to let Lalah be free. I feel like this scene is meant to comment on a greater discourse surrounding Newtypes and humanity but I didn’t finish any previous UC content so it’s kind of lost on me. Machu and Shuji reconciling and even sharing a kiss in spite of everything Shuji has done should’ve done something at least but in the end, I barely bought into their romance so this moment falls flat on me.

Shuji relents and Lalah wakes up, allowing her to trigger Zeknova to return them back to their universe. Challia surrenders to the authorities but Xavier convinces him to help create a new future for Zeon and Newtypes. Speaking of Zeon, we learn Artesia has assumed leadership of Zeon following Ghiren and Kycilia’s deaths. I guess that’s a good thing but I feel like this would be more meaningful if Artesia had more than just a couple of cameo appearances and the relationship between her and Char’s family with the Zabi family wasn’t explained in a single, last minute flashback. Char travels to Earth and finds the Lalah of his universe. Given what I know of Char, I find it implausible that he’d decide to lay low but whatever.

As for Machu, she reunites with Nyaan and they begin traveling together, their first destination being a beach somewhere on Earth. She can’t exactly go back home anyway, what with her being a fugitive and all. At least, she finally lets her poor parents know that she’s okay; I really wondered how they’ve been feeling about her going missing. It’s a fitting conclusion for Machu. She made it to Earth and she broke free of her empty, suffocating life at Side 6, like she said she would. In the end, she got what she wanted. There’s something poetic about Nyaan sticking with Machu. I do think Nyaan gets too much of a pass here. I mean, she did kill a lot of people last episode. Still, it’s a bit uplifting that she sticks with Machu. Despite some of the tension between them, Machu is one of the few friends Nyaan truly has. The one caveat to Machu and Nyaan’s fate is that Shuji isn’t with them as promised though Machu appears hopeful to meet him again. I guess that’s meant to be a sequel hook but who even knows if this show will get one.

Assuming a sequel won’t happen, I have reached the end of GQuuuuuuX. I really tried to wrap my head around the show as best I can but honestly, I completely understand if a longtime fan of Gundam disregards my two cents. I don’t think I was in the right demographic for this show and had I known any better, I would’ve saved this show for after I dived down the UC rabbit hole. That said, I don’t know if I’ll come out of this show more positively on a rewatch. Putting aside all the homework it demands, I didn’t really enjoy my time with GQuuuuuuX. There’s some good ideas in the story and I like some of the characters but GQuuuuuuX lacks the time to flesh them out and it bit off more than it could chew. Had the plot been more digestible and at least two seasons, I think it would’ve fared a lot better.

While GQuuuuuuX ended up being a complicated experience, I still would like to give Gundam a couple of more whirls. It’ll be a while before the next mainline Gundam is announced so the next time I blog about the franchise will likely be about previous content. SEED Freedom is still on the to-do list, I didn’t get around to it before GQuuuuuuX, and I also plan on watching Iron-Blooded Orphans, ahead of its spin-off movie releasing next year. Fingers crossed that I’ll enjoyed these.

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Watch Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX on Amazon Prime Video